Chapter 2 - Introducing Ethereal: Network Protocol Analyzer

Ethereal is a network analyzer that reads packets from the network, decodes them, and presents them in an easy to understand format. This chapter gives a high-level overview of Ethereal, its various features, and supporting programs. It covers the history of Ethereal, its compatibility with other sniffers, and its supported protocols. It provides a brief introduction to the Ethereal GUI and the filter capabilities. The chapter also covers the programs that come with Ethereal that add additional functionality by manipulating capture files. It explores several scenarios for using Ethereal in the network architecture. Finally, the chapter covers an example network troubleshooting methodology. It is good practice to use this methodology every time one troubleshoots a problem.